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Children of Heaven
Iran - 1997
Directed by Majid Majidi
Winner of the Montreal World Film Festival Grand Prix of the Americas Award and the Air Canada People's Award, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN is a sensitive, memorable film from Majid Majidi ("The Father.")
Set in Majidi's native Tehran, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN follows the relationship between an impoverished brother and sister, Ali and Zahra, who are thrust into a difficult circumstance. They choose to solve their problem themselves, without telling their parents, in their own unique way. What follows is a tender, moving, tale of compassion, determination and deep family love.
Written and directed by Majidi, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN portrays human hope and beauty against
a harsh economic and political landscapes.
Courtesy of MIRAMAX
Guest Comments
From: "Ebenezer Bodvarsson"
"Great story, great story telling, great everything"
From: "Jessica"
"I just watched this with my ten year old daughter, who was completely absorbed, as was I , in this touching and well-made story."
From: "Angelica Ruiz"
With an assignment for class, and a list of movies to choose from, I decided to choose Children of Heaven, simply for the title. It sounded like a decent movie, so I thought I would give it a shot. I never would have expected such a heart touching story. This story brings back family values, and the rewards that come to a hard working family. Now I definitely would buy this movie, and introduce it to others whom I think will find it a great movie as well. The story is set in Iran, and the main characters are Ali and his sister Zahra, who struggle with a problem that they must keep from their parents. Ali managed to lose his little sister’s shoes, and knowing their parents had no money until the next month, they couldn’t turn to their sick mother, or poor but hardworking father for a new pair. The children come up with a solution that might work if little Zahra could run just a little faster in her brother’s too big, beat up sneakers. You see, every day she would wear Ali’s shoes to her morning class, and then meet Ali in the alley where they would exchange shoes and he would wear them to his afternoon class. In the meantime, Zahra learns that her shoes were picked up by a blind man and given to his daughter who attends the same school. Everyday she watches her running and skipping in her old, sparkly, red shoes. The other great aspect of this movie is the family is poor and often run out of things at the end of a pay period. They struggle to make ends meet, and often have to do without when they run out of things. Ali’s father receives some gardening tools and decides to try to make some extra money on the weekend. His father decides to take Ali on a bike ride into the rich city, much more modern than the poor slums they live in on the outskirts of the city. They go in search of gardening work; the father finds it difficult to find any customers by speaking into the intercom systems of the big, intimidating mansions. He just gets shut down by the stuck up people on the other side wondering why he is bothering them. The young and brave Ali steps up and finds a man who is in need of a gardener, Ali scores himself a playmate and fun toys to play with for the afternoon and work for his father. Now back to the shoe problem, Ali finally finds his answer. He enters a running race for boys and the third place winner gets a new pair of shoes. Ali battles the other boys, but fails to succeed at getting new shoes because he comes in first place. Ali must then go home to tell his sister the heartbreaking news. I don’t want to ruin the ending, but I am sure you can imagine it is a happy one, as the children continue to struggle to find a solution. This is what I really enjoy about this movie, how very different these children are compared to American children. They are such obedient and respectful little people. They know they must take their problems into their own hands. Since their parents did not create this mess, they do not want to burden them with it. They decide to help each other and come up with a plan that works for them, although not as smoothly as they would like. Throughout the movie they show so much respect for their elders, I just wanted to buy them each new shoes! These kids are so smart and have the skills to problem solve without the help of their parents. This is a movie that is great for the whole family. I think it would be a perfect family activity that could involve everyone taking turns reading subtitles to younger family members. Siblings could learn a very good lesson and the values of taking care of each other, your belongings and to appreciate what you have are important lessons for every child. I think children could learn to have more empathy for others, and realize how lucky they are with all they do have. This movie also proves the value that your parents have to work hard for the money they earn to support the family. I loved this movie, and will be recommending it to anyone who asks, “Seen anything good lately?” It was definitely different than anything I have seen lately. This movie was able to captivate my full attention, which is usually hard to do at 9 o’clock in the morning. The acting was great; I could feel the emotion of the children throughout the movie. It had me at the edge of my seat, and rooting for Ali to win the footrace, my heart pounding when a fellow runner tripped him. In the end, I was left with nothing but a smile and a whole new perspective on subtitles and movies. Next time I am at the video store, my mind will definitely be more open to something a little less ordinary. I am very impressed with the film, and it leaves me feeling good about the Iran culture and people. In a time when our country is dealing with so many global issues, this is the perfect movie to watch to open your family’s mind up. It goes to show that families struggle with the same type of issues, fitting in and getting by. The manner in which we handle them is different. The length these children go through to avoid putting additional stress in their parent’s life is tremendous, and the heart touching title is very fitting in this film, Children of Heaven."
From: "Bernard Holmes"
"This is a wonderful empathitic story that will have u cryingin the isles. a remarkable which I felt priveleged to have seen."
From: "Your 13 sisters in Islam"
"We watched this movie at a girls sleepover party, because it was Ramadhan and it was the only movie we were allowed to watch. The movie was
interesting, but we were a bit confused at the end of the movie. The thirteen of us didn't quite understand the significance of the fish and the feet in the water. We would
greatly appreciate if you clear this up for us. Thank you"
Editor's Note: I have some ideas, but would only be guessing.
Maybe a guest with more insight will shed some light on this for us.
From: "nour"
"Amazingly spiritual and beautiful. Pure quality film-making. There are so many lessons to be learned. You can't possibly grasp everything the first time. Makes you look at life differently. Every child should see this movie. "
From: "Arantxa"
"This film is beautifully filmed and relates a poignant relationship amid difficult circumstances. It can be viewed on several thematic levels: the simple story of pursuit of the lost article; the relationship of siblings deprived in some ways, rich in others; the things the Western world takes for granted; the values that are so deeply imbedded in one's being that even desperate want does not cause one to forsake them. To the girls wondering about the goldfish it could be that they represent the healing provided by nature. P.S. This film is now available on video."
From: "Laura"
"It's wonderful, interesting, amazing. In this film, they show us that we have to appreciate everything we have. Because there a lot of things that we have and we really don't appreciate as is. We have to earn everything."
From: "Sergio"
"I was really concern to see and Iran movie, However at the end of the movie, I fall in love with Zahra and Ali (May be because I have daughter of the same age of Zahra). And I really have empathy with them, because is the same history of many, many Mexican children. Just, I can say thanks for this kind of movies."
From: "Patricia D."
"Una película que refleja la realidad pero vista desde los ojos de un niño, es lo que me parece esta hermosa e inteligente película. La realidad que viven las personas de Irán es bastante cruda al igual que la de países de latinoamerica en donde la diferencia de clases es clara, cosa que se refleja en la película. Otra de las cosas interesantes es ver unos valores y normas de conducta muy diferentes de los musulmanes, cosa que en la mayoría de las películas se encargan de señalar como una religión obsesiva, fanática y mala. Por el contrario en esta película nos dimos cuenta de que son personas con valores muy necesarios en nuestra época como los son la honradez, la amistad, el amor y la capacidad para apreciar lo que esta vida nos regala todos los días. Creo que los niños de esta película bien podrían darle una lección a los máximos dirigentes de la política y economía de nuestros países en todo el mundo. Es una película que no puedes dejar de ver, pues cambia tu perspectiva del mundo."
From: "rhoda bilchik"
"This is a terrific movie about the scheming of two innocent children in an effort to fool their impoverished parents until the boy can replace his sisters lost shoes. A very tender showing of sibling affection and support. Not a tear jerker, but sweet and suspenseful at times. Definitely worth seeing!"
From: "Mas"
"the Goldfish swam to the golden globe winner. "
From: "Michael Bracher"
"I have thought about this film constantly in the past 24 hours since I have seen it. It is simply in my opinion a masterpiece - in its cinematography, its simplicity and complete understated emotion. Western movie makers could learn much from a film like "Children of Heaven"."
From: "Mosabber"
"This movie falls right up there with "The Bicycle Theif" and "The Apu Trilogy". The movie makes us realize that there is a whole new world-the world of children. Majidi is a top class director indeed."
VHS NTSC
Item#IRA017-1
Price: $59.95
ALSO
AVAILABLE
ON DVD
DVD
Item#:
IRA017-1DVD
Price: $29.95
All videos available from 1-World Festival of Foreign Films are in VHS-NTSC and Region 1 DVD formats
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